Gifts aim to inspire, motivate young readers

Eight-year-old Stephanie Sasportas didn't leave for summer vacation empty-handed this year.

The rising third-grader was among thousands of Charleston County students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade who received a carry-home bag that included 10 books and suggested activity cards.

Any student enrolled in one of the district's 30 high-poverty elementary schools received 10 books that were below, on and above their grade level. The books are theirs to keep.

Lisa Simmons, Sasportas' mother, welcomed the chance to build up her daughter's home library of about 50 books.

"I thought it was great," she said. "That's right up her alley. She loves to read. I want her to keep reading."

The decision to give students books at the start of their summer vacation is part of the district's renewed focus on literacy. Michele English-Watson, director of the district's Title 1 office, began researching the idea early this year, and the news about the federal stimulus money, coupled with the priority placed on literacy after the newspaper's series on illiteracy, gave her even more reason to make this happen.

"We want them to do some reading over the summer," she said. "This starts the concepts of building libraries at home."

She hopes the initiative encourages students to read more, enjoy it and feel more comfortable with books.

It's especially critical to encourage literacy in high-poverty homes because research has found that children from those homes experience a greater summer-learning loss than classmates from middle- and upper-income families. One study found that 50 to 67 percent of the achievement gap between children who live in poverty and their more affluent peers stems from summer-learning loss.

Two summers ago, the district gave students bags that contained suggested activities and journal-writing ideas. This summer's gift of books takes that concept a step further.

Lambs Elementary Principal Janice Timko was thinking about trying to find money in her budget to buy books for her students and was pleasantly surprised to find out about the district-wide initiative.

"When these books came, it was like Christmas 10 times over for the kids," she said.

She asked students to wait until they arrived home to unwrap and read the books. But, shortly after distributing the books, she found kids reading them.

"They were so excited," she said.

She's had children tell her that they don't have any books, and she's seen homes without them. She's grateful the district decided to spend its money this way. "That's one way we're going to get our kids to read more is put books in their hands."

She plans to talk with her teachers about potentially incorporating some of the books into lessons for next year. She told students that they could receive prizes for reading the books and completing the worksheets, and her staff also sent home "learning packages" with suggested math and reading assignments.

The district spent about $300,000 of its Title 1 federal stimulus money to buy the books. English-Watson has earmarked money in this year's budget to send the books home with students again.

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.